


When There Was Me and You

by Punxutawney



Category: High School Musical (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Future Fic, Gen, Snapshots, suburban ennui
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-06-21
Updated: 2009-06-21
Packaged: 2018-08-13 11:19:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7974952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Punxutawney/pseuds/Punxutawney
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gabriella Bolton is a happy American woman.</p>
            </blockquote>





	When There Was Me and You

"You're highschool sweethearts? Oh, that is too good to be true."

The woman next-door has a low voice that indicates years of heavy drinking and smoking, but her appearance poses a contradiction. Gabriella switches her weight from leg to another with vague uneasiness. It's all a little too _Desperate Housewives_ to take in. She stopped to catch her breath for a while on the lawn -- _their_ lawn -- and immediately found herself at the mercy of neighborhood housewives who had peeled all her layers away in a suburb minute. She backs away cautiously after promising to join the lovely ladies later for an evening of chatter, nervous already.

A few cardboard boxes still wait for to be carried inside, the twins are running around getting themselves dirty and wet after discovering the joy of sprinklers, and Troy is nowhere to be seen. The man from the removal firm brings her something to sign. Se accidentally signs with her maiden name, and he needs to fix another one.

It's not much past noon, and she feels dizzy already.

***

Stacy the babysitter-cum-cleaning lady is all bright eagerness. She's so glad to have found a part-time job that's just perfect for her. She almost thought of quitting college, she admits to Gabriella. She needs this. She majors in social studies and she looks at her with the air of a freshman whose eyes have been forced open not long ago. She looks at Gabriella eagerly, a little too confidently.

"I never thought of having kids of my own, though," she muses. "Not yet anyway." Her hair is blond, her complexion healthily rosy. "But I'm great with kids," she hurries to say. "I have three little brothers. But yeah, I so couldn't imagine having kids of my own at this age."

Looks like she can do her math.

***

"You never wear your hair down anymore," Troy repeats after his first attempt awokes nothing but a slightly confused "what" in Gabriella. He touches her smart ponytail, curls it around his fingers.

"You look so beautiful with your hair down," he continues, and she's not sure if the tone is accusing or mourning. Both. Neither. She raises her head from his shoulder, tears her gaze away from whatever it is they're watching on tv, instead watches him watch her.

"You know the twins, they're at that age, I can't keep my hair down or they'll pull it all out." She smiles at him. He doesn't watch her this intently too often anymore. It's not even Saturday.

"Maybe we could get a nanny," he continues.

"A nanny? Troy, you know we can't afford one at the moment, what with the theater's decision and the economics, and besides, we don't _need_ one because..." Gabriella trails off, _knowing_ that he knows all the reasons and wondering why he still brings this up. He knows they barely handle their mortgage now. He knows she's lucky to have a part-time job at this day and age. He knows his own career could disappear into thin any day now. 

"But you know, it's like I never get to see you anymore," he presses on. "I mean, you're here, but. Every time I come home, you're putting the kids to bed, or cooking, or cleaning up, or whatever." He gestures exasperatedly.

"You come home late." Unfair, she knows, but it's a fact. She sits up straight now, letting his arm slip away from around her.

"Yeah, but. If you had a full-time job, and someone else would do that stuff for you and you wouldn't have to think about it, we'd all be less stressed out. And we could, you know, be together more." He sounds determined, like he's been thinking about this long and finally figured something important out. She sighs.

"I'm home all the time, Troy."

"That's not the _point_."

 _That's exactly the point_ , Gabriella wants to snap out, but suddenly she feels calm: disappointed and amused in a serene way. She sees his face, still boyish, his eyes still so wanting and expecting so much, as they've always been. There is no reason in arguing, she realizes, and with this detached realization comes a feeling of deep satisfaction. Whether he knows it or not, she's already won this battle by stepping away from it. He would never understand. He would never.

"I'm sorry, you're right," Gabriella smiles. "I'll look into it."

**Author's Note:**

> So, this was weird and maybe unfinished. I just wanted the high school sweethearts to grow up.


End file.
